Larry Hunter

This article is about Larry Edwin Hunter the basketball coach. For Larry Edwin Hunter the computational biologist, see Lawrence Hunter.

Larry Hunter (August 8, 1949 – May 4, 2018)^[1][2] was an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head basketball coach at Wittenberg University from 1976 to 1989, Ohio University from 1989 to 2001, and Western Carolina University from 2005 to 2018, compiling a career college basketball coaching record of 702–453.^[3] As head coach of the Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team from 1989 to 2001, he had a record of 204–148.^[4] His Bobcats teams made one NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament appearance in 1994, an NIT appearance in 1995, and won the Preseason NIT in 1994. Despite his winning record and being second on Ohios' all-time wins list with only two losing seasons, he was fired in 2001.^[4] Hunter also played at Ohio University from 1970 to 1971.^[5]

Larry Hunter

Biographical details
Born	(1949-08-08)August 8, 1949 Athens, Ohio, U.S.
Died	May 4, 2018(2018-05-04) (aged 68) Cary, North Carolina, U.S.
Playing career
Basketball
1970–1971	Ohio
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Basketball
1971–1973	Marietta (assistant)
1973–1976	Wittenberg (assistant)
1976–1989	Wittenberg
1989–2001	Ohio
2001–2002	NC State (assistant)
2002–2005	NC State (associate HC)
2005–2018	Western Carolina
Soccer
1973–1975	Wittenberg
Head coaching record
Overall	702–453 (basketball) 11–20–1 (soccer)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Basketball NCAA Division III tournament (1977) 6 OAC tournament (1979, 1981–1983, 1985, 1987) 4 OAC regular season (1980, 1981, 1985, 1989) MAC tournament (1994) MAC regular season (1994) 2 OAC Southern Division (1977, 1978) 2 SoCon North Division (2009, 2011)
Awards
Basketball NABC Division III Coach of the Year (1977) 2× OAC Coach of the Year (1980, 1989) MAC Coach of the Year (1994)

Ohio hired its alumnus away from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. Hunter was the head coach at Wittenberg for 13 seasons, leading the Tigers to the program's second NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament championship, in 1977, and garnered NABC Division III National Coach of the Year the same year.^[6] He was the first coach in NCAA history to win a national championship in his first season at a school. In total, Hunter won six regular season Ohio Athletic Conference championships and six Ohio Athletic Conference tournament championships during his tenure at Wittenberg. Before moving to Western Carolina University, he was an assistant coach and an associate head coach under Herb Sendek at North Carolina State University.^[6] On March 4, 2018, Hunter announced that he was stepping down as coach of Western Carolina.

Less than two months after he stepped down at Western Carolina, he suffered a stroke and was sent to a hospital in Cary, North Carolina, where he died less than a week later.^[7]

Head coaching record

Basketball

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Wittenberg Tigers (Ohio Athletic Conference) (1976–1989)
1976–77	Wittenberg	23–5	10–2	1st (Southern)	NCAA Division III champions
1977–78	Wittenberg	16–7	9–3	1st (Southern)
1978–79	Wittenberg	23–6	10–3	3rd	NCAA Division III Regional Runner-up
1979–80	Wittenberg	29–3	13–0	1st	NCAA Division III Third Place
1980–81	Wittenberg	28–3	12–1	T–1st	NCAA Division III Regional Runner-up
1981–82	Wittenberg	20–10	10–3	T–2nd	NCAA Division III Regional Fourth Place
1982–83	Wittenberg	26–6	10–3	T–2nd	NCAA Division III Runner-up
1983–84	Wittenberg	18–9	10–3	T–2nd
1984–85	Wittenberg	27–4	14–2	T–1st	NCAA Division III Quarterfinal
1985–86	Wittenberg	23–5	13–3	2nd	NCAA Division Regional third place
1986–87	Wittenberg	25–8	12–3	2nd	NCAA Division III Third Place
1987–88	Wittenberg	20–7	12–4	T–2nd
1988–89	Wittenberg	27–3	15–1	1st	NCAA Division III Regional Runner-up
Wittenberg:		305–76 (.801)	150–31 (.829)
Ohio Bobcats (Mid-American Conference) (1989–2001)
1989–90	Ohio	12–16	5–11	8th
1990–91	Ohio	16–12	9–7	5th
1991–92	Ohio	18–10	10–6	4th
1992–93	Ohio	14–13	11–7	4th
1993–94	Ohio	25–8	14–4	1st	NCAA Division I First Round
1994–95	Ohio	24–10	13–5	2nd	NIT Second Round
1995–96	Ohio	16–14	11–7	4th
1996–97	Ohio	17–10	12–6	3rd
1997–98	Ohio	5–21	3–15	6th (East)
1998–99	Ohio	18–10	12–6	4th (East)
1999–00	Ohio	20–13	11–7	5th (East)
2000–01	Ohio	19–11	12–6	3rd (East)
Ohio:		204–148 (.580)	123–87 (.586)
Western Carolina Catamounts (Southern Conference) (2005–2018)
2005–06	Western Carolina	13–17[8]	7–7[8]	3rd (North)[9]
2006–07	Western Carolina	11–20[10]	7–11[10]	3rd (North)[11]
2007–08	Western Carolina	10–21[12]	6–14[12]	5th (North)[13]
2008–09	Western Carolina	16–15[14]	11–9[14]	T–1st (North)[15]
2009–10	Western Carolina	22–12[16]	11–7[16]	2nd (North)[17]	CIT First Round[16]
2010–11	Western Carolina	18–15[18]	12–6[18]	T–1st (North)[19]
2011–12	Western Carolina	17–18[20]	8–10[20]	T–3rd (North)[21]
2012–13	Western Carolina	14–19[22]	9–9[22]	T–5th[23]
2013–14	Western Carolina	19–15	10–6	5th
2014–15	Western Carolina	15–17	9–9	4th
2015–16	Western Carolina	16–18	10–8	T–5th	CBI First Round
2016–17	Western Carolina	9–23	4–14	T–8th
2017–18	Western Carolina	13–19	8–10	6th
Western Carolina:		193–229 (.457)	112–120 (.483)
Total:		702–453 (.608)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Soccer

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Wittenberg Tigers (Ohio Athletic Conference) (1973–1975)
1973	Wittenberg	3–9	2–7	9th
1974	Wittenberg	3–7	3–5	8th
1975	Wittenberg	5–4–1	1–3–1	5th (Southern)
Wittenberg:		11–20–1 (.359)	6–15–1 (.295)
Total:		11–20–1 (.359)

See also

• List of college men's basketball coaches with 600 wins

References

1. Former WCU coach Larry Hunter dead at 68
2. Larry Hunter Western Carolina Basketball Coach – Daily Catamount Archived January 21, 2013, at archive.today
3. "Western Carolina's Larry Hunter Stepping Down After 13 Seasons". Archived from the original on June 9, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
4. NC State assistant makes in-state move – Men's College Basketball – ESPN
5. 2011–12 Ohio men's basketball media guide, Page 86
6. Hunter has spent four seasons on NC State staff – Men's College Basketball – ESPN
7. "Larry Hunter, former coach for Ohio and Western Carolina, dies". ESPN.com. Associated Press. May 4, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
8. Western Carolina Catamounts Basketball 2005–06 Schedule – Catamounts Home and Away – ESPN
9. Southern Conference Standings (2005–06) – College Basketball – ESPN
10. Western Carolina Catamounts Basketball 2006–07 Schedule – Catamounts Home and Away – ESPN
11. Southern Conference Standings (2006–07) – College Basketball – ESPN
12. Western Carolina Catamounts Basketball 2007–08 Schedule – Catamounts Home and Away – ESPN
13. Southern Conference Standings (2007–08) – College Basketball – ESPN
14. Western Carolina Catamounts Basketball 2008–09 Schedule – Catamounts Home and Away – ESPN
15. Southern Conference Standings (2008–09) – College Basketball – ESPN
16. Western Carolina Catamounts Basketball 2009–10 Schedule – Catamounts Home and Away – ESPN
17. Southern Conference Standings (2009–10) – College Basketball – ESPN
18. Western Carolina Catamounts Basketball 2010–11 Schedule – Catamounts Home and Away – ESPN
19. Southern Conference Standings (2010–11) – College Basketball – ESPN
20. Western Carolina Catamounts Basketball 2011–12 Schedule – Catamounts Home and Away – ESPN
21. Southern Conference Standings (2011–12) – College Basketball – ESPN
22. Western Carolina Catamounts Basketball 2012–13 Schedule – Catamounts Home and Away – ESPN
23. Southern Conference Standings (2012–13) – College Basketball – ESPN